While all the information known about the game thus far is awesome, one question is still left unanswered, “Where is Mega-Evolution?” Originally introduced in Pokemon X & Y, pokemon who can mega evolve change into a stronger form with the help of a Key Stone (Mega Bracelet) and a respective Mega stone. Mega evolution enriched competitive battling with new ways to battle and revitalized the use of Pokemon that generally had a difficult time competing against Pokemon above their tier.

To date, Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company have left the community in the dark when it comes to this mechanic making a return to the series. Many fans in the community are still anxiously waiting for any confirmation of Megas returning and below are examples of what The Johto Press has been able to unearth around the possibility of the Mega Evolution mechanic returning to the series by using some of the information already released about Pokemon Sun and Moon.

Mega Evolution is one of the most recognizable mechanics from Pokemon X & Y (Gen VI) as it served as one of the major plot lines of the game. In Pokemon X & Y Professor Sycamore and his trusty assistants Dexio and Sina are researching the strange new form of evolution that only seemed to appear in the Kalos region (later returning in Pokemon ORAS). In reference to Dexio and Sina, it was difficult to ignore the return of these characters in an early September Pokemon Sun and Moon trailer (1:56) where the main protagonist is shown speaking to them about collecting Zygarde cells and cores with the Zygarde Cube key item. The character models are uncanny and are confirmed within the trailer as their names are shown in this particular scene.

Dexio and Sina entrust the trainer with the Zygarde Cube to find its cells and cores

As mentioned before, Dexio and Sina are assistants of Professor Sycamore who’s research revolves around Mega Evolution and the Pokedex. It can be assumed that their presence in Sun & Moon and their interest in Zygarde could just be another research project assigned to them by Professor Sycamore; however, why entrust the player with finding Zygarde cells and cores? If you’ve played Pokemon X & Y, it is important to note that Dexio and Sina’s motives aren’t always what it may seem. Apart from helping Professor Sycamore research Mega Evolution, both of these characters always seemed to show up during major turning points in Pokemon X & Y that involved Team Flare or upgrading your Pokedex. As the plot drew near in X & Y, it is revealed that Sina and Dexio are indeed the masked crusaders who call themselves the Defenders of Kalos.

The questions then come up, could Sina and Dexio have other reasons for which they are in the Alola region? Is it possible that apart from Zygarde, that they are potentially also researching the presence of mega evolution in the Alola region? At this point in time, these questions are obviously speculative but do come to mind in relation to Mega Evolution and their return to the main series.

Before we let Dexio and Sina off the hook, the same image mentioned has both of them sporting some peculiar looking bracelets that if looked at more closely don’t seem to resemble Z-Rings. Their bracelets have a more smoother surface and lacks the sharp crystal edges of the Z-Ring. It can be said that their bracelet design more closely resembles the Mega bracelets from X & Y. In this instance, their bracelets are white in color versus the traditional black color scheme. It can be argued that these are most likely just character customization accessories, but it is odd to see two characters wear the same accessory.

Dexio and Sina sporting a rather particular bracelet unlike the Z-Ring

The next piece of potential indication of Mega Evolution is a familiar pose that every trainer must learn to call upon Mega Evolution. Now, jokes aside in Pokemon X & Y, there are times that the trainer makes a couple of hand and wrist gestures before raising a fist in the air to signify Mega Evolution. In the same fashion, one of the Pokemon Sun and Moon Japanese trailers (1:45) from the month of July 2016 featured a familiar pose like that of the Mega pose from Pokemon X & Y. Although the scene is clumped together with scenes of the new Z-Move mechanic, it has a different animation from that of Z-Move sequences. The image below gives a point of visual reference to show the close similarities that they share.

Trainer from Sun and Moon oddly poses like the Mega pose from X + Y. What could it all mean?

Lastly, its time to discuss the closes piece of official information that mentions the appearance of mega pokemon in Pokemon Sun and Moon. V-Jump a Japanese magazine that focus on manga and video game news featured a spotlight on Jangmo-o, a new dragon pokemon from the Alola region. In this highlight the magazine goes over Jangmo-o’s Soundproof ability and mentions that it can stop a Hyper Voice attack from Sylveon and Mega-Gardevoir. This is the first instance in which Mega Evolution is clearly mentioned as being cannon to appearing in Pokemon Sun and Moon. It can be inferred that since Jangmo-o is a new pokemon and it can stop Mega-Gardevoir’s Hyper Voice attack, then we will most definitely be able to battle and use mega pokemon.

Jangmo-o can stop Mega-Gardevoir’s Hyper Voice

Even with this information, its still odd that mega pokemon game play has yet to surface. Some speculative thoughts as to why this may be are that mega evolutions are being saved for the post game. Furthermore, the hope that new Megas will be introduced are unlikely unless Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company have one final piece of news in relation to the Mega Evolution mechanic before the game releases.

The game is set to release November 18th in North America which is less than one month and half away. Here is to hoping that more news drops surrounding the return of Mega Pokemon.

As always, be the best version of yourself! This Politoed is OOUUUUTTTT!

The finale to the Team Flare Arc has finally come to a close with the latest episode of Pokemon XYZ Anime, a one hour special beginning with the episode titled, “The Megalith Moves Forward! The Kalos Line of Defense!!” Although it was a two part episode special, this review will go over episode 42 respectively mentioned above. As always, SPOILER WARNING! Please be sure to watch the episode before reading if you do not want to be spoiled of the plotlines and episode resolutions.

The review will be split into the following which are Pokemon Battles, Top Emotional Moments, Music, and Overall Story.

Pokemon Battles

This episode has some of the best pokemon battles and sequences of the Pokemon XYZ series which is not surprising with it being the conclusion to the attack on the Kalos region. There are quite a few that will be discussed, but not to worry some of the best have also made the Top Emotional Moments section of this review so bear with us as we go over some of the best battles.

The first battle is Serena, Steven Stones, and Professor Sycamore vs. the Megalith Zygarde. Although quite short, the battle was great in that we saw Mega Garchomp and Mega Metagross in action as they faced off with some of the vines with the help of Braixen. The Mega evolution scene with the Professor and Steven Stone amps the action that will surely come as the episode continues.

Next, we have the arrival of Alain and Satoshi to the aid of Steven Stone, Serena, and the Professor. The battle makes the scene so much more meaningful because of how it plays well on the comradery between all the characters. Mega Charizard and Pikachu come just in the nick of time to keep the vines from taking hold of Braixen, Garchomp, and Metagross. The scene moves forward with the plan to save Chespin within the megalith as Greninja joins the fight to free Chespin. The entire team valiantly works together but are unfortunately caught in the grips of the megalith vines until the arrival of the Kalos Line of Defense; who are the line of the defense? Keep reading as it is in the top emotional moment’s section of this review.

Top Emotional Moments

There are so many moments in the episode that are worthy of discussion! The episode was that emotionally driven. The first emotional moments has to be when Satoshi gives his short inspiring speech about protecting Chespin and the Kalos region. The always “go getter” and “fight to end” character motif of Satoshi at least has not changed in the 20 years of the Pokemon franchise. This moment in many ways becomes a voice for the fans as we cheer our favorite heroes on.

The second emotional moment is seeing the entire cast fly into the setting sun and standing together to fight off the megalith. Although the scenes were short, some of the action shots and scenes really highlighted the character’s comradery and emotion to save Chespin thus saving the Kalos region. Some of the shots include the helicopter scenes with Satoshi and the supporting cast overlooking their brave pokemon battle for the fate of Kalos.

Lastly, the top moment in THE JOHTO PRESS’ opinion has to be the arrival of the Kalos Gym leaders which are perfectly called after the title of the episode “Kalos Line of Defense”. Their arrival is signified by a white blast of light at a pivotal moment in the episode. Their arrival is just perfect with the right music, gym pun character lines, and their own glamour shot moment introducing their Pokémon specialty. This is the closing scene of the episode 42 which ends perfectly as the heroes regroup to plan a course of action.

Music + Soundtrack

Overall the music choices in the episode were fitting with track titles like the “XY Trainer Battle”Theme when Charizard and Pikachu save Braixen from a nasty fall and the “Ash-Greninja” Theme as Greninja joins the fight to mark the location of Chespin with his Water Shuriken attack as the rest of the supporting pokemon cast help Greninja reach the Megalith. Lastly the best music track combined with one of the best character appearance has to be the Kalos Gym Leaders as they unexpectedly join the defense line as they stand together. The music track that made this scene even more powerful is one that I unfortunately cannot seem to find but will link here and call it the “Gym Fighting Spirit”. This song was played another time when Satoshi faces off Olympia in the XY Gym Arc around 12:50 time stamp of the episode. The song really adds to the entrance of the gym leaders as they are each given a manga style portrait as they say their gym specialty. Fans went bonkers to see that Satoshi and the rest of the supporting cast had the help of no other than the most prominent characters from Kalos which apart from gym leaders include Malva from the Elite Four and the Kalos Champion, Diantha.

If anyone happens to know the track title that plays when the gym leaders arrive, please be sure to leave a comment below so I may update this review with its proper name!

Overall Story

The episode’s purpose was to definitely position all the characters in the important role they will play to save Kalos. Apart from moving the plot forward to its finale, the combination of the music, action scenes, and the arrival of the Kalos Line of Defense made this episode hit an emotional cord as a viewer. As a whole the story did well in making viewers feel that without the help of one another nothing can ever be accomplished. It also introduces moments in which Puni-chan’s fellow Zygarde core has difficulty understanding why humans are coming to the aid of a pokemon when they are up against a force much more powerful than them. Overall, the story was great with its emotional moments and throwing in ideas of belief and having hope.

The Team Flare Arc still continues with Pokemon XYZ EP. 41 titled, “Attack on Miare Gym! Citroid Forever!!” The following is a review of the episode and if you have yet to see the episode then SPOILER WARNING (Full Episode on YouTube)

The review of this episode is divided into the following sections The Pokemon Battles, Top Moments, Soundtrack, and Overall Episode.

The Pokemon Battle

The episode begins with Satoshi and Alain counterattacking Lysander in a Pokémon battle against Mega Gyrados and Pyroar. Meanwhile Bonnie & Blaziken Mask are hot on the tail of Zygarde to try and knock it back to its senses. Clemont and his trusty Clembot are in search of the megalith blaster in Prism tower to find themselves fighting off a Team Flare Top Admin. As for Marin, Professor Sycamore, Serena, and Team Rocket while on route to rescue Marin’s Chespin, they too are met with Team Flare. Luckily, they are quickly aided by a surprising old familiar ally which in my opinion enriched the entire episode and boosted the emotional tension that Kalos is not alone in their time of need. I feel that what made the battles so great were the emotion and intent behind the battle. Indeed the battle is to stop Team Flare, but it was more about the safety of Kalos and its citizens. It definitely gave the vibes of the unity that all the characters have to come to one common goal; save Kalos, save the Pokémon world.

Top Moments

This episode like the past few had emotional moments, but I will say that this episode can really pull at your heart even tighter than previous episodes. If you are a crier such as myself, then you will definitely find a couple of tear-jerking moments. One of those moments would definitely have to be Bonnie and Puni-chan’s (Zygarde) friendship song. Bonnie burst into tears and sings her Puni-chan song to remind Zygarde that she is with it and that it needs to snap out of its evil trance. The moment is furtherly strengthen with emotion when Blaziken Mask (Meyer) snatches Bonnie as Puni-chan-Zygarde seemingly attacks in her direction. As she is being held from safety, she reaches for Puni-chan and sings louder with tears rolling down her cheeks to show her affection for Puni-chan. This exchange really burns into your mind as you watch.

One other moment like that of Bonnie’s, is her brother Clemont as he is forced to say goodbye to Clembot. Clembot is Clemont’s trusty human like robot invention that he poured his heart and soul into when he attended the gifted academy. As Clemont kept Team Flare at bay, Clembot was busy shutting down the megalith blaster mechanism and in its effort to do so, found that the only solution was to sacrifice itself in the process. The emotion of the scene goes even further as Clembot has to explain to Clemont that he must be the one initiate the command to finish disabling the machine. Clemont tries to reason out other possibilities, but with no time, Clembot chose to do what it felt was best for Lumiose City.

Now onto top happy moments, there was the surprising arrival of no other than Steven Stone, the Hoenn Champion who comes to the rescue of Sycamore, Serena, Marin, and Team Rocket as their helicopter is attacked by Team Flare grunts. Just when you think that our favorite heroes are in trouble, in comes Steven Stone in fashion as he rides on top of his shiny Mega-Metagross. Steven’s arrival was by far The Johto Press’ favorite scene from this particular episode. Who doesn’t like a character from a previous generation? Steven’s entrance really moves the viewer to root for the safety of Kalos and before I forget to mention his battle scenes were awesome.

Serena & Braxen Fighting from helicopter

Steven Stone Comes to the Rescue

Team Rocket Joins the Alliance

One last top moment from the episode is of course, bad ole Team Rocket, up until this episode Team Rocket was keeping up with their disguise as a news crew reporting the events in Lumiose. Throughout most of the previous episode their plan was to reach the lab and then usurp control from Team Flare and put another evil plan in motion; however, they quickly join the fight to stop Team Flare after being attacked. The moment is endearing because to save face, they claim the only reason they are even helping is to not allow the world to belong to no other team that isn’t Team Rocket.

Soundtrack

The music in the episode went on to include a tracks from the Pokemon X & Y game. The song is titled, “An Eternal Prison”.* It is a beautiful emotional song. The song plays in the exact moment that Clemont learns that Clembot can only disable the megalith blaster by destroying his memory and robotic programming software. It drives the song home even more when Clembot’s final words to Clemont are “I am happy, thank you” … “I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet you” and with this Clembot’s final scene shows his body being electrocuted till he ends next to Clemont lying on the floor lifeless.

*Edit: Thank you [NOT] Silver (Cait’s Pig) from PokeAmino for pointing out an error on my original post. The track was indeed An Eternal Prison and not “Kiseki”

Another track in the episode, titled “The Legendary Pokemon Awoken” is played as Satoshi gives his counter speech towards Lysander’s beliefs with a memorable montage of the supporting cast fighting to liberate Lumiose from the grips of Team Flare. It was definitely a powerful scene and I feel that the song choice is just right. In a sense the legendary heroes have awoken to protect Kalos.

Lastly, one of the top moments in the episode also gets the most heart wrenching sorrowful toned version of the usually happy song titled, “Puni-chan no Uta”. The song is meant to be a happy and loving tribute about the friendship that Bonnie and Puni-chan have fostered throughout their time in the series. The song is sang by Bonnie in a more sorrowful tone and acts almost like a sweet lullaby to calm Puni-chan’s Zygarde 50% state in the hopes that it will snap out of its destructive trance. The song works on so many levels such as to show the power of love, pain, and uncertainty in one swoop.

Overall Episode

Overall the episode hit the right marks perfectly and is a stand out entry in the Pokemon XYZ series. I do not believe much more can be said other than the episode did exactly what it intended to do. It gave viewers the emotional story that is going to make the fight for Kalos in the 1 hour 2 episode special more personal to the characters and the viewers of the show rooting for their favorite heroes to persevere and save Kalos.

The Pokemon Community on Twitter and PokeAmino have spoken, the verdict is Exeggutor well more like Exeggcute. Septembers Pokemon Giveaway will be an IV Breed Exeggcute.

Be sure to follow the Entry Rules mentioned above, and don’t forget that IF you are an EMAIL SUBSCRIBERyou will get 2 Entries which increases your chances of winning 1 of 15 of these rotten eggs even more!!!

A new Pokemon Sun and Moon trailer has hit the web and its become the big buzz in the Pokemon community. Why the big chatter? Well, because apart from the obvious new pokemon, the trailer has revealed new characters, more mysteries, and Ultra Beast. What in the world is an Ultra Beast you’re wondering? Is it a pokemon? Maybe or maybe not?

Here is a breakdown of the trailer to get you up to speed on the interesting and exciting news as we unpack the mystery of Ultra Beast among other things.

Jangmo-o

It is a new dragon type pokemon with access to the abilities bulletproof and soundproof. On the Pokemon Sun and Moon website, Jangmo-o is described as having the “pride of a warrior” yet “humble” while showing its capabilities. Because this pokemon trains in harsh locales like canyons there are some speculations that if this pokemon evolves, that it will most likely have warrior like features to stay fitting of its pokemon description. Jangmo-o seems to be quite strong as having defensive and offensive fighting styles; furthermore, there are some thoughts that may place this pokemon with rank levels of Dragonite reaching the pseudo legend tier.

Type: Null

You read that right! This pokemon’s name is Type: Null and it is a normal type pokemon with access to the ability Battle Armor. This pokemon has thrown the pokemon community for a loop because when initially revealed, it looked as though a new pokemon typing was being introduced; that was far from the case. Type: Null is described as the synthetic pokemon made up of various other pokemon adaptations to survive in many various situations. In short, this is a form of a chimera from Greek mythology which is a beast made up of other animals like lions, birds, and dragons. Lastly, the helmet it wears serves to limit its strength.

Cutiefly Stage 1 Evolution?

There is not much information on this other than some pokemon fans recognizing distinct differences of a pokemon that has huge similarities to Cutiefly. Since the Pokemon Company never really makes “mistakes” when announcing information through trailers, it is not surprising that with CoroCoro still to be released for the month of September, we might just get a clarification on this seemingly new pokemon.

Next we have the introduction of an enhanced photo taking feature. A nod to the popular PokemonSnap of course. In Pokemon Sun and Moon, players will now be able to take a quick snap of their favorite pokemon. Like Professor Oak in PokemonSnap, it seems that your trusty RotomDex will judge your photography skills and also provide information on how your photos are doing on Pokemon’s version of social media ; miiverse most likely.

In game exclusive information, Pokemon Sun and Moon will play out different depending on what version you are playing because each version is set 12 hours apart. Along with this time difference version exclusive pokemon appear depending on the version you are playing. The trailer goes onto say that the time difference in the game will cause certain events in game to play out different. For example, it looks as though in one version the Totem Pokemon can be either be Gumshoos or an Alolan Raticate. The over world seems to also be affected by the time change in which the scenery adapts to the particular time with Moon seemingly having a longer evening and Sun perhaps having a longer morning time frame.

In Alola Map reveals, the game trailer also highlighted some of Alola’s beautiful scenery and culturally rich cities. Some of these included a tower, fishing inspired city, and the to of the icy mountain during different times of the day. The over world seems to have been given a lot of aesthetic treatment. The images are quite beautiful and feels like there is plenty to explore.

In Pokemon X & Y throwback fashion, the trailer glazes over the reintroduction of old familiar faces; Dexio and Sina make their return to the main series as you are held with the responsibility of a special Zygarde item in search of its Zygarde Cells and Cores. The player was shown walking around Alola collecting the cells to perhaps power up the players Zygarde forms. The reveal of the Zygarde Core item by Dexio and Sina is so fitting because they are Kalos natives visiting to help unravel the many mysteries of Zygarde that were left untouched in Pokemon X & Y.

Now for the biggest surprise of them all is the reveal of The Aether Foundation which is an organization who’s sole purpose is to protect and provide a paradise for Pokemon who have been abused and stolen by Team Skull. We are introduced to Lusamine, Aether’s Glamorous President, followed by Faba , Aether’s Branch Chief, and lastly Wicke. Their headquarters is located on the artificial island near the middle of the Alola map. Although they seem to be presented as a pokemon rights organization, many from the Pokemon community were not easily fooled by the untrustworthy vibe the organization as a group emits story wise.

Then there is Gladion, the Team Skull Enforcer, that may actually be the true leader of Team Skull or a training cadet of sorts. Not much more is known of Gladion.

The introduction of these characters felt really out of left field because for sometime now we thought Team Skull to be the main antagonist group putting Alola in some form of turmoil.

Lastly, the mystery to take the cake is the introduction of Ultra Beast. After looking at the official pokemon website. Ultra Beast are not classified as Pokemon nor Human. The trailer revealed UB-01 , UB here standing in for Ultra Beast. The website goes on to say that there are more Ultra Beast that seek to wreck havoc in Alola and Pokemon. The community went wild and there are speculations that UB-01 could actually be Lillie, Professor Kukui’s assistant. Why such a proclamation? Well, because the description for UB-01 states that its a shapeshifter of sorts and has a white glass appearance furthermore, it sways its body like that of a young girl. Aesthetically, Lillie and UB-01 share similar design features like the white angelic colors scheme and body shape. Because Lillie still remains to be shrouded in mystery like UB-01, the connections stack up to lad many to believe that Lillie and UB-01 are one in the same or at least directly connected to each other and the plot line of Sun and Moon.

Be sure to stay tune for more Pokemon News as we wait for more reveals.